The side quests and hidden locations in Cult of the Lamb are just as animated and colorful as the main questline, and easily just as weird. There's a man that's disguised as a fish, a grizzled old rat that likes gambling, a dark wolf that rises from the murky depths — and Sozo, a character who's obsessed with mushrooms.
Specifically, it's the red-and-white Menticide Mushroom that Sozo pursues, and he asks the Lamb to help aid him in his quest. The Menticide Mushroom is one of the most versatile and useful items in the game. Players can use it for building, Rituals, or to complete Sozo's quests in Cult of the Lamb.
The Rot Of Anura
The realm of Bishop Heket is a decomposing forest in a state of perpetual autumn, a realm of rot and famine, which means it's ideal for mushrooms. Here is where the Lamb will first come across both the mature version of the Menticide Mushroom, and the spores that can be collected, planted, and cultivated.
The lost followers of Sozo have wandered into this dangerous wood, but have failed to find any mushrooms, and are afraid to return to their obsessive leader without them. Luckily, the benevolent Lamb has arrived to deliver them instead, and the followers of Sozo reveal their dwelling on the map so that the Lamb can visit them.
Spore Grotto
Spore Grotto is home to the Mushroomo Followers and the dedicated but obsessed, deeply paranoid Sozo. The first room the Lamb sees will be the quaint space where the Mushroomos have set up their humble stalls to sell Tarot Cards and Blueprints for mushroom-themed sculptures and decorations.
Sozo can be found in the second room to the north, and this is where players can find his totem once they unlock it. This group will start as a rival cult to the one the Lamb is trying to build, but after helping Sozo, he will be so grateful that he will pledge his loyalty to the Lamb, and will now collect Devotion for his new leader.
Sozo's Quests
Sozo the NPC is virtually always standing by his tent in the second room of Spore Grotto. He wears a full backpack, complete with a bedroll, but never seems to go anywhere. He loves his mushrooms, however, and the first quest he gives the Lamb is to simply bring him 10 mature Menticide Mushrooms. The Lamb gets a handy Red Crown piece in return.
Bring Sozo 20 more mushrooms, and he'll teach the Lamb the Brainwashing Ritual and reward the player with another Red Crown piece. The next quest, which yields a third and final Red Crown piece, is to build a special sculpture in honor of Spore Grotto. It's a complicated recipe that requires 35 Menticide Mushrooms and 20 consecrated Gold Bars.
Acquiring Mushrooms
There are a couple of different ways the Lamb can get their hands on Menticide Mushrooms:
- Dungeon Drops: Once the Lamb has visited Anura, they will pick up both spores for the mushrooms and harvest mature ones. Deliver the mature ones to Sozo for quests and plant the spores back at the Farm.
- Growing Spores: Mushrooms take longer to mature than other plants in the garden, but Sozo will accept mushrooms grown in the Lamb's compound just as readily as those that drop in Anura.